Islands of Arendholm - A Sims 2 Medieval Story

Welcome to Arendholm! A small group of islands lying before the eastern coast of britain. The year is 500 A.D. and the Anglosaxons have arrived in Britain. [sideblog | main is @tipsypixel-sims]

[arendholmislands]

NAVIGATE THE ISLANDS

Welcome, traveller! You might have some questions, this post might have the answers!

Where am I?

The Islands

What happened?

Prologue Recaps: The Years 500 - 509 | .... The Whole Story: Chronological | Mobile Tag

Where can I find...?

Answered WCIFs

[tipsypixel-sims]

Testing: Do you see this post?

Currently still on holiday but it appears that my blog as well as @arendholmislands might have been "shadowbanned" (my ccfinds sideblog has also disappeared into the void completely but that I could live with)

[tipsypixel-sims]

Since I can't comment: Thank you for the feedback everyone! <3 Good to know that at least posting is unaffected!

[tipsypixel-sims]

Update: Everything seems to be back to normal! 🥳 (Except for the missing cc finds blog - oh well 🤷‍♀️)

[tipsypixel-sims]

Testing: Do you see this post?

Currently still on holiday but it appears that my blog as well as @arendholmislands might have been "shadowbanned" (my ccfinds sideblog has also disappeared into the void completely but that I could live with)

[arendholmislands]

Today on "My uploading schedule is a dumpster fire"

Hello, hello! Quick announcement to report that:

1) I think I like the uploading schedule of 3x per week and will very likely stick to it!

2) Posts will take a short break again, however, because I am off on holiday for the next two and a half weeks and did not manage to take the pictures for the upcoming post amidst all my last minute travel preparations! (I'm sorry! 😅😭)

[arendholmislands]

"The crops are doing well this year", Bodowin noted. He and Esthrid were standing in her little garden, where Bodowin had been waiting for his brother for what slowly began to feel like an eternity.

"They are!", Esthrid, who was watering the plants with the water they collected by putting out big clay pots whenever it rained, replied.

An awkward moment of silence followed. Bodowin and Esthrid didn't openly dislike each other, but Esthrid did not have the best opinion of her husband's brother due to his at times unfair treatment of Boda. And while there had never been so much as an unkind word from her, Bodowin did pick up on the fact that his brother's wife might not be his biggest fan.

When Hildulf finally turned around the corner, Bodowin visibly relaxed.

"Well", Hildulf looked at Bodowin with a slight smirk. "What are we waiting for?"

Bodowin raised his eyebrows. "That would be YOU, dear brother."

They set off to the bay, but the wind carried their voices back so that you could still hear them even after they were long out of sight:

"So...? What took you so long?" - "I had important things to do." - "Pfft - and what were those important things?" - "None of your business!" - "You overslept didn't you?" - "I did NOT!" - "Well then what DID you do?"

Hildulf remained silent. His brother didn't need to know that hearing his daughter's bright laugh this morning made him not want to leave the island for the first time since they'd arrived on Arendolm.

But the Angles of Wallsend were waiting for word on the comissioned ships and with Wēodmōnaþ coming to an end it was high time to set their sails for the British coast again.

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[arendholmislands]

Even in summer Arendholm was rarely sunny, but on the days that it was Boda could usually be found at the beach.

She also liked to watch as the sun turned into a big fiery ball that was then swallowed up by the ocean - clearing the stage for the moon and stars to shine.

When she was still small, Boda had asked her mother over and over to tell her the tale about how Wodan and his brothers placed the steorran, the little lights in the sky, all around Middilgard. She sometimes wondered how they made some of them stay in the same place each night, while others seemed to move as the seasons changed.

While Boda was outside, pondering the wonders of their world, Esthrid and Bodowin took advantage of this rare moment of having the house all to themselves.

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[arendholmislands]

"Fetch, Graegfell!" -"Good wolf!

"What is it?", Boda mustered her wolf friend who'd retrieved the stick and was now looking at her expactantly. "Ohhh... I know what you want. You want a treat?

Graegfell let out an approving howl.

"Psst! If you want a treat, you have to be quiet! You heard what uncle Hildulf said last time."

To everybody's surprise - especially her father, who'd told her over and over that Graegfell was not a dog but a wild animal - Boda had managed to teach the wolf some commands over the summer.

What Boda didn't tell anyone was that she'd started to give the wolf small pieces of meat or fish whenever he'd do something she wanted him to do. Of course that didn't escape her uncle's keen eye for long. Hildulf had scolded her about wasting their hard caught fish and hare on an animal who was very much able to catch its own food.

His words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, though.

"I think there's still some hare left over from last night. But you have to stay here while I try to smuggle something out.", she whispered into Graegfells ear.

The wolf, as if he had understood every word Boda had said, laid down on the ground behind the house and watched her as she disappeared behind the corner.

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[arendholmislands]

Around Ærra līða the construction of the ships began. It was amazing how many trees Ordlaf, Praen and Wasa had managed to cut down over the winter. Unfortunately not all of the logs turned out to be suitable to be turned into planks for the ships, but they were put to good use as materials for some new buildings on Arendholm:

There was now a bigger well in the center of what was slowly turning into a proper settlement.

And Ordlaf, Praen and Wasa had built themselves a simple wooden hut near the woods.

The biggest of the new buildings was a big hall that would soon become the new home of Bodowin, Frida and their children. The hut near the bay was bursting at the seams after the latest addition to their family and Bodowin was hoping that a new home would improve Frida's spirits.

On top of that they'd also began with the construction of a wooden palisade, that - once finished- would encircle the entire settlement. After all, turbulent times lay ahead...

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[arendholmislands]

AUGUST PROMPT: World Leaders

I knew I wanted to write something for this month's @@historical-sims-community promt "World Leaders". But since Arendholm can barely be called a settlement yet, I felt that Bodowin and Hildulf did not really fit the prompt.

Instead you get a bit of background on Eoppa, son of Oesa. If you followed Islands of Arendholm until now you'll know that Eoppa is the leader of an Anglian settlement that the brothers regularly trade with. But did you know that he is based on a historical person? Read more about the real Eoppa, my version of him and a quick summary of the Anglosaxon Invasion (Or was it?) of England below the cut!

(Warning: Lots of text and historical context below, please don't feel obligated to read all of it unless you are a history nerd like me and really enjoy that stuff !)

A quick little history lesson to set the scene

After the end of Roman rule around 410 A.D. the island of Britain fractured into many small Celtic kingdoms with each ruler vying for power while simultaneously fearing extinction by the hand of various "barbarians". In true Roman fashion the term was used rather freely to describe both other Celtic tribes that you were at war with (e.g. the Picts, who settled north in the region that today is Scotland) as well as various Germanic raiders (e.g. Saxon)

According to Gildas (a 6th century monk), it was a British warlord named Vortigern, who decided to fight fire with fire and hired some of those dreaded Saxon warriors to deal with the Picts. A decision which Gildas very openly condemns , writing "Nothing was ever so pernicious to our country, nothing was ever so unlucky. What palpable darkness must have enveloped their minds-darkness desperate and cruel!"

Bede (a 7th century monk,) specifically names the arrival of two brothers, Hengest and Horsa, in 449. According to both authors, the Saxons ultimately realize that Britain is a pretty great place to live and not that well protected after the fall of the Roman Empire. So they decided to invite more of their people over and start their own kingdoms, thus driving the Britons back further and further inland.

This theory of the Anglo-Saxon invasion has long prevailed. However, a newer theory based on both DNA evidence and the examination of burial sites tell a story of at least coexistence but even more likely that of interaction and the merging of cultures. So were the Anglo-Saxons not violent invaders but instead peaceful immigrants? As with most things in history (and really in life in general) there is probably truth to both theories.

But since peaceful immigration rarely makes a good story I'll gladly take a little bit of violent invasion for my version of Britain, thank you!

Who was the historical Eoppa?

Eoppa's name only appears in historical sources as the father of Ida, who is recorded as the first king of Bernicia. Without spoiling to much about Ida's fate, I'll just say that according to the Anglo-Saxon Cronicle Ida died in 560 A.D. Assuming that Ida was born around 510 A.D., most put Eoppa's year of birth somewhere around 480 A.D. His father, Oesa (or Esa) might have been one of the Germanic warriors (in this case Anglian) hired to defend the northern coastal regions against raiders from mainland Europe or the regions south of the Hadrian's wall against the Picts. Old English royal genealogies trace Ida's (and thus Eoppa's) line back to Woden (Odin). Now, as to whether this is true and Woden is just a misremembered germanic king or this divine ancestry is something that later kings used to support their claims to the throne...

Eoppa in the Arendholm Universe

My version of Eoppa is born in 470 A.D., making him 44 years old currently. Early Anglo-Saxon society did not really have a social elite and the first "kings" only started to emerge by the end of the 6th century. While the same thing is true for the Angles of Wallsend, Eoppa has somehow ended up in the postion of the village chieftain: After an initial period of peaceful coexistence between the Angles and a local tribe of Brythonic Celts, many small events lead to a conflict between the groups that ultimately ended in bloodshed and most of the Britons fleeing north. Eoppa's skill as a fighter earned him a great deal of trust and respect in this time. So when his father, who people usually came to with any problems they couldn't solve themselves, died, people suddenly started coming to him instead.

By 500 A.D. he had married Mairenn, the daughter of one of the few Brythonic people who had stayed and taken the Angle's side in the conflict, who has since born him two sons, Ingwyn and Ida.

But trouble is on the horizon again and somehow Eoppa finds himself smack in the middle of it again.

[arendholmislands]

Boda often accompanied Esthrid into the woods on her search for more of the goatweed. She loves to learn about all the things that Esthrid knew about the herbs that grew around here and she enjoyed the sense of serenity found among the dense bushes and tall trees of the forest.

Today however, the usual serenity was disturbed by an unexpectedly bare view of one of their new neighbors.

Boda, who for all her life only had to share the island with her family and the local wildlife, still hadn't quite got used to the presence of the three men on "her" island. But judging by Esthrid's reaction, the other woman was no more accustomed to suddenly being confronted with a naked man's behind.

Careful not to be noticed, they slowly backed away, only daring to quicken their step once they were out of hearing range. When they reached the same small path between some berry bushes that they came from, they finally stopped. Looking at each other they broke out into roaring laughter that lasted until their bellies hurt and their cheeks were wet with tears. With everything that'd been going on, it felt good to find moments to laugh like that again.

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[arendholmislands]

The dark spirits (at least that's what Esthrid said it was) did not let go off Frida easily.

But as the days went by and turned into weeks, things slowly began to shift. One morning as Esthrid came back from her walk with Leofraed, she found Frida in front of their hut, preparing the fish that the boys had caught the evening before - something that she hadn't done in what felt like ages.

Maybe the tea is finally working , she thought while quietly observing her dear friend.

When Esthrid had found some goatweed in the islands' woods, she'd begun drying its leaves and flowers, which she'd then use to brew a tea for Frida. She remembered the plant because it was the same one that her villages' chieftess and herbalist Mairenn had used back when Esthrid's own mother had suffered from a similar condition. Mairenn had called it something else, but Esthrid rememberd that she'd told her how it could be used for both wounds of the mind and the body.

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[arendholmislands]

Hello, hello! :D I'm taking a page out of @esotheria-sims's book today, who always adds a pretty "Random Scenery Pic™" to announce the return of her BACC posts. I think I never posted this picture of Boda watching the waves at night, because I couldn't fit it into the *turning-gameplay-into-storytelling* way I construct my posts, even though it is probably my favorite picture of her!

Anyway, what I am here to say is: I finally managed to stop spending my time cc-creating and building/decorating and actually played my game for once and even scheduled some posts! 🎉

The first post will be coming to your dashes tomorrow at the usual time (so... *checks* 19:30 UTC +2)! ⛵

I also plan to space them out a little more this time around so the planned posting times are Thursday/Saturday/Tuesday. But I guess we'll see how well that goes and I might end up changing it again because apparently this is how I roll, so... 🤷🏽‍♀️😂

[ts2cambremon]

2 Years of Cambremon!

Cambremon is two years old! Thank you so much to all of you for your likes, your comments, and your reblogs! I'm so excited to see how far Cambremon has come. We're now entering the final stages of the general plot I had in mind when I started this whole story! I'm really looking forward to sharing some cool scenes with you!

Here are a few of my favorite pics from the past year!

Once again thank you so much! <3

[arendholmislands]

Happy birthday to @ts2cambremon!!! 🥳🎈🎉

[arendholmislands]

Hi! Just dropping by to tell you how much I love Arendholm, as a history enthusiast and as a new mother, I feel so seen! All of the characters feels so fleshed out, it’s like I know them in person 🥹 anyway sorry for rambling, I hope you’re doing well and will continue this lovely story someday. ⭐️

Oh my... 🥹Stumbling back onto tumblr and finding this sweet message in my askbox has absolutely made my day!

I'm currently taking a little break from simming, but will most definitely return to see where the story takes Bodowin, Frida, Hildulf, Boda and her many brothers!

Thank you for reading and for taking the time to write this message - it really means a lot to know that others enjoy the things one puts out into the world(wide web)! <33

[ts2cambremon]

Cambremon- the events so far (pt.6)

See here for: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5

Inna confessed to Marek her misgivings about the sacrifice. He told her that he'd had a vision of them living happily and in a Fort of their own, away from her siblings.

Ren attempted to convice Kadja to come back to the Fort. She refused, and Ren became violent.

Ren was cursed by the spirits, as he'd broken the laws of asylum. Kadja told him to leave, adding that as long as she was in the Monastery ground, she was protected from him.

Ren put in place a blockade around the Monastery, intending to block Kadja's supply of mana and force her to come out.

Kadja's allies, Serna, Katrina, Sosina, and her mother Eviya, banded together to help Kadja get mana. They bribed a guard, Len, to have access to the Monastery.

Ivan caught Katrina, and suspected her of helping Kadja. Bringing her back to the Guard Tower to interrogate her, he was intercepted by Lef and Bruk. Although Lef knew that Katrina was lying, he covered for her and allowed her to be set free.

But this event only worsened the relation between Ivan and Bruk.

Dormund asked to speak to Kadja. During their discussion, in which he expressed his fear of being useless to the Cambremon, he drove them further into the woods. Without realizing it, Kadja stepped outside the bounds of the Monastery, marked by an owl statue.

Kadja fell into Ren's ambush. Although she took out Dormund, her escape was blocked, and Ren threatened to kill Janviya should she try to flee towards the Monastery.

Although he obtained a humiliating apology from Kadja, Ren, in a needlessly cruel gesture, killed Janviya and informed Kadja that the school was now off-limits for Serfs.

To further humiliate her, Ren dragged Kadja through the streets and imprisoned her in Fort Cambremon.

[arendholmislands]

Boda had of course helped with caring for her other brothers as well as Blygh when they were little, but never as much as she did now with Leofraed. Lately, especially during his crying fits, she often wondered if she'd even want to have children one day.

When she had bled for the first time her mother had explained to her about how a woman came to be with child. And while there were ways to try to prevent it, a child was always a possible outcome when lying with a man.

Boda had to admit that Leofraed had his cute moments (like clutching her finger with his tiny hand while falling asleep), but lying with a man could hardly be worth all that trouble, could it?

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[arendholmislands]

Bodowin felt as if his wife had been taken from him and replaced by someone closely resembling her, but with empty, sad eyes.

To make matters worse, Leofraed was not what you would call an "easy" baby. He seemed to be crying constantly, no matter what Frida did or did not do.

Esthrid and Boda tried to help by taking over most of the household chores, looking after the older boys and helping with Leofraed wherever possible.

Weeks went by, but Frida's condition remained unchanged.

Boda: "How is she today? I brought fresh blackberries, her favorite."

Bodowin: "That's nice of you, but she didn't get up yet. Last night was a bad night..."

He smiled, when all he wanted to do was scream: I don't know what to do! Tell me, what can I do?! But he knew that his thirteen year old daughter would hardly have the answer to those questions.

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